by Jack Parker
"What?"
"How else could he have erased all the black spots of ink and made the sheet look paler than normal? So here's what I'm thinking: there was someone working on the night shift when Scott got killed and a name was written down on the records. Then, for some reason, the name that was written down got whited out by someone. That's why there aren't any black splotches and there's instead just an empty white space."
Teneire was rendered completely silent; he had no idea what to say.
"Just making sure I understand you…" Teneire started, now sounding very serious. "You're saying someone WAS working on the night Scott died, and then someone whited out the name on the records?"
"Exactly."
Teneire was silent a bit longer before saying, "Then whose name was written down on the work records? And who erased it?"
Collin fell silent as well after hearing that question. He was suddenly getting more excited and felt like he had finally done something right. Now all he had to do was put the final nail in the coffin before Teneire would allow him to call Randy in for questioning.
With a sly smirk spreading over his face, Collin said, "That's an easy one."
Chapter 13
Another Theory
"All right, then, what is it?"
Collin took a deep breath. Okay, this is it…this is what it's all come down to right here. Gotta make this one count! "The person whose name is whited out on that form is the one who killed Scott."
Teneire seemed to be expecting that answer, but he was still shocked by it. Perhaps it was because he was stunned he and Collin had come to the same conclusion, for once.
"What? Where do you get that?!"
"Think about it like this: the guy who killed Scott shows up for work at around the start of the night shift, all right? He puts his name down on the paper and signs into work. Then BAM! He kills Scott around one in the morning and goes back to the work records. He gets some white out, puts it over his name, and he's clear."
"What do you mean 'he's clear'?"
"Well, if his name wasn't on the records, then that would mean he wasn't at work, right? So if Scott died at work and the records said the guy who killed him wasn't there, then that would mean the killer would have an alibi, right?"
"Collin, you're overlooking a few things," Teneire said. "Let me ask you something: if the person who killed Scott was going to erase his name from the records, then why would he even write his name down in the first place?"
"Oh, come on, sir. You've seen how many people there are in the office when you've investigated, right? The killer just had to look natural, so he signed into work so no one would suspect he was up to anything."
"That wouldn't make a difference, though! Collin, if one of the workers actually saw the killer sign in and then saw his name was off the records the next morning after Scott's body was found, then they'd still know the killer was there."
At first, that argument made Collin feel like a sharp knife had been stuck right through him. However, it only took a moment to get himself back together. "And that's where you need to check your theory, sir."
"I beg your pardon?"
"You saw that there was only one name on the record, right? That would mean that there were no other workers around when the killer signed in."
"Which leads me right back to my question! If the killer really did sign in like you said so he wouldn't look suspicious, then what would be the point of it if there were no other workers around?"
Collin began grinning. "I don't think I said anything about workers being there, sir."
"What?"
"Like I said…you know how busy that office gets, right? If there were no other workers signing in, then the killer was probably just trying to make himself look less suspicious to some of the customers."
"That's…but that's not logical!" Teneire said.
Collin was suddenly feeling such an enormous rush from his growing confidence that he began talking back to Teneire in ways he never imagined he would. "Oh, really? Fine. What's something illogical about that?"
"Wha?...Uh…well, it seems weird that…"
"Sorry, sir, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But if you find something, pleeeeease tell me."
"Don't use that tone with me, Mr. Bansen…grrrr, all right, I can't find anything wrong right away with that theory you just gave me, but don't think you've won yet."
What's he going on about?... "What do you mean?"
"Like I said, I can't find anything wrong with what you just told me. But all you've done is tell me about what you think happened when the killer first showed up for work. If you're so sure you're right, then I want to hear what you think happened from the time the killer showed up to the time Scott's body was found."
Wha?!...Gah, this is bad. Okay. Eeeeeasy does it, Collin. Just think carefully and try to go back to what you were saying before. Take it nice and slow…
"All right, here's my theory: the killer shows up at the start of what would have been the night shift, right? He signs in so none of the customers will think anything is wrong. When it's late out and the killer was sure everyone was in their tents for the night, he lures Scott there and kills him. The killer then dragged Scott to the hiking trail-if they weren't already there-and then returned to the main office. The killer whites his name out for the records and then leaves. Then the hiker finds the body a few hours later, and you know it from there."
"That…I don't know about that," Teneire said softly. "So you don't even know if Scott was on the hiking trail when he died. Is that it?"
Collin gulped as he realized that he said "IF they weren't already there", which he thought would be something Teneire would jump all over.
"And on top of that, do you have any proof to back that theory up?"
Again, Collin felt as if a giant hole had just been drilled into his best guess. "Uh…no. But you said it yourself: there was nothing wrong with it."
"I didn't say that," Teneire said, now sensing the change in momentum that was happening and smirking about it. "I said I couldn't find anything wrong with how you thought the killer showed up for work. But now that you've given me your idea about what happened the entire night…well, I can find a bunch of problems with it."
"Uh…like what?"
"Well, for starters, just playing along and assuming your little theory is true…if someone was working the night Scott was killed, then Randy would've known about it. He would've told us who was running the night shift at the time."
"No, he wouldn't."
"What?"
"Sir, are you forgetting the work records? They say no one was there. Even if Randy remembered who was running the shift that night, he'd have nothing to back it up with. The name would have already been erased from the record and whoever he actually DID have working that night would deny that they had anything to do with Scott."
Teneire opened his mouth to say something in response, but he promptly closed it. "Uh…well…okay, you may have a point, but…well, you're going to have to find something to back up this argument of yours with."
"I…I…" Don't mess up now. Isn't there SOMETHING you can use to prove your point? "I…sorry, sir. But I don't think I have anything right now."
Teneire almost looked surprised to hear that. "You don't?"
"No…sorry."
Teneire sighed and slumped back in his chair. He was about to say something else until Collin spoke up.
"Sir, I want you to be honest…do you think I'm right about all this? Please, I want your honest opinion. I want to know if you think I'm wrong."
Teneire smirked. "You know I'd tell you if I thought you were wrong. And I think you are."
Collin's face dropped and his heart rate suddenly came to a dead stop for a split second. He wanted to say something, but he was at a loss for words.
"I don't think you have it right. I think more happened on that night then you're guessing."
Collin was almost ready to just give up n
ow and walk out of the office. He had so much hope that his argument would hold water for once with Teneire, but that was obviously not what would come about from this discussion.
"But at the same time…" Teneire said, suddenly revitalizing Collin's spirits, "I think you might be on to something. I still can't disprove your theory about the killer signing their name on the work records and then whiting it out, so…look into this a bit more for me, will ya?"
All of a sudden, Collin's grim appearance changed back to one of hope and excitement. "You…really mean it?"
"Yes. I can tell you really want to do this, and until I feel that you're COMPLETELY inept…I don't really see the harm in letting you continue to work on this."
"Ha ha! Awesome!" Collin yelled as he charged his fist into the air. "Thank you SO much! Sir, I promise I won't let you down!"
Teneire chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. If I got a penny every time I heard that from you I'd be able to retire to Hawaii."
"Well, it ends now. THIS time, I'm gonna figure everything out! You'll see!"
Collin instantly got up and started running for the door, but Teneire stopped him. "Wait a minute! What exactly are you going to do?"
"…what else? I'm gonna look into things a bit more."
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Huh?"
"What's been your favorite thing to do ever since you started trying to piece this thing together?"
"Wha?...uh, figuring it out?"
"Yeah, but what have you always wanted to help out with? Even though it's a police-only job?"
"Uh…questioning people?"
"There ya go!"
"Sir, I don't think I understand…"
"Before you do some investigating, don't you think we'd be better off doing some more questioning? Now that you've figured out someone WAS there the night Scott died…"
"Yeah, but anyone we bring in is gonna deny that they were the ones working that night. And we've already brought everyone in for questioning, anyway."
Teneire grinned. "I think you're forgetting someone."
"No, I'm not. Nick, Ian, Jess, Lisa…we've already got'em all."
"Don't forget the latest piece of the puzzle."
"The latest piece? But who…Randy!"
Teneire smiled and nodded.
"Sir, you're REALLY gonna bring him in for questioning?"
"Yup. With that new bit of info, I'd like to hear what he has to say."
Collin actually began smiling and laughing. "All right. Let's bring'em in!"
-
"This is absolutely ridiculous!" Randy scoffed as he was seated down in the questioning room. He looked like he would rather be anywhere else on earth than in that same seat.
"Just cooperate and it won't be so bad," Teneire lightly promised. "Remember, we're not accusing you of anything. All we want you to do is answer some questions.
"Haven't I already done this friggin' thing once already? Isn't that enough?!"
"Sir, please calm down," Teneire again said lightly. "We've just got some new info and we just want to hear what you have to say about it."
Reluctantly, Randy growled and leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. When he looked to the side and saw Collin standing in the corner looking at him as if he really WAS the criminal, Randy sharply asked, "And just what the hell are you doing here?"
"I'm here to help," he answered proudly.
"What the f…"
"Sir, please," Teneire ordered, this time less easily. "He's an old employee here. I let him help out. In fact, he's the reason I decided to call you in now."
Randy looked over to Collin and seemed to cast the nastiest glare Collin had ever received. Great, why'd Teneire have to say that? Boy, am I gonna get spoken to after this…
"So, what is it?" Randy asked.
"Just some questions. Answer them fully and honestly and everything'll be all right."
"Fine. What is it?"
"Well, after doing a little bit of investigating, it looks like the work records of that night may have been a bit faulty. Would you please tell me a little more about who was working that night?"
What kind of trap does Teneire have in store?...Collin wondered.
"I can safely say there's nothing wrong with the records," Randy answered plainly. "Seriously."
"I don't know," Collin interjected. "I just looked over them and…"
"You shut up, you little twerp. There's a reason you're making minimum wage, you know."
Wha?...I am NOT!
"Anyway, what did you think was wrong with the records?" Randy asked.
"Well, it would appear as if someone tampered with them…" Teneire tried to say as sophisticatedly as possible.
"Nope."
"I'm sorry, sir?"
"That didn't happen."
"Mr. Kayson, the work records CLEARLY show…"
"…that no one was there. Yes, I know."
"Mr. Kayson, that's not what I was getting at. We took a closer look at the records and noticed something kind of odd."
Randy suddenly looked a bit more interested in the session. "Odd? Waddaya mean?"
"Well, that one box at the top of the records…there was something weird about it."
"Weird?" In an abrupt moment, Randy seemed much tenser.
"Yeah. One of the boxes was different. It looked like something had been written there and later whited out."
In a split second, Randy completely lost his cool. He let out a small gack and nearly fell backwards out of his chair. Teneire and Collin both looked at him, awestruck and confused about what could have caused him to react like that. By that point, Collin's heart once again started beating incredibly quickly, sensing that something big was about to happen.
"I…"
Teneire was now beginning to look a little confused, yet excited. "Mr. Kayson, do you know anything about that name being whited out?"
"That's…you see…all right, I'll explain," he answered, suddenly regaining his composure.
Ha ha, Collin thought as he grinned at Randy beginning to look a bit nervous. He's already starting to crack. I'll bet we're gonna get something now!
"Yeah? So what if there was something that looked like white out of the paper?" Randy asked. "I really don't think that means anything."
"Mr. Kayson, that means someone intentionally erased a name from the work records," Teneire said in a very serious tone. "Let's not forget this was on the night someone got killed there. I think it's pretty important."
"So? There's no way you can prove someone was working that night," Randy said in a cocky way, but still sounding like he was very nervous about something. "The records even say so."
Teneire was about to speak up, but Collin instantly cut him off. "You'd like to think that, wouldn't you, Randy?"
"What?!"
"As much as you'd like to pretend, there WAS someone working on the night shift the night Scott died!"
"H…how do you know?!"
"Remember that log book that the police confiscated after the murder?"
"Yes…what about it?..."
"There's something in that log book that completely tears your story to shreds. It was an entry that read:
Camper in space 21C complains of loud thumping noise a few feet from her cabin. I will investigate this myself soon and try to figure out what it is. I'll report back when I have found the source.
"The date…" Collin said very mischievously with an equally devilish grin spreading across his face, "…July 27th, 1:32 AM: almost exactly the time Scott died. Someone was indeed working at the EXACT time Scott died!"
Randy let out another brief startled cry as he looked at the heavily suspicious looks he was getting. "It wasn't me, I tell you! It wasn't!"
"Why are you suddenly getting so anxious, boss?!" Collin yelled excitedly as he tried to mount the pressure. "Why are you saying you didn't do it when neither of us said you did!"
"Oh, just admit you're thinking that!" Randy yelled. "Come on, you kn
ow that's what you're thinking! But guess what! It wasn't me!"
"Sir, please…" Teneire said. He was the only one showing any control or restraint.
"I didn't kill Scott, and I'll swear that all the way to the gas chamber!"
"Mr. Kayson!" Teneire yelled. "Get a hold of yourself! If you REALLY didn't kill Scott-not that that's what we're accusing you of doing-…"
Oh, please. You know it. I know it. He knows it.
"…then just explain why someone's name is whited out on the records while there's still a log book entry that proves that someone was really working there that night."
"Urgh…all right, fine," Randy said, doing his best to regain his composure.
What?! Is Teneire letting ANOTHER guy slip away?
"I admit it," Randy lowly muttered. "I…actually DID have someone to work the night shift that night."
"I knew it!" Collin victoriously burst out.
"But it wasn't me!" Randy again insisted.
"Then who was it?" Teneire sternly asked.
Randy looked like he was ready to say something, but he closed his mouth. "I…don't really remember."
"WHAT?!" Collin erupted.
"What do you mean you don't remember?" Teneire demanded.
"I don't remember who it was who I put on the shift to run things that night….I'm sorry, I guess."
" 'Sorry' isn't good enough!" Collin yelled.
"Mr. Kayson, are you sure you can't remember?"
Randy grunted a little. "Positive."
"But you don't deny someone whited out their name on the work records?"
Again, Randy grunted. "No, someone's name was definitely written down on the work records and it got erased. But I…don't remember whose name it was."
"How can you not remember?!" Collin yelled.
"Collin, calm down!" Teneire snapped, instantly shutting him up. "Mr. Kayson…"
"It wasn't me…"
"Sir, we've heard you the first fifty times. We just want to know…"
"I don't know anything!" Randy insisted, starting to feel extremely pressured.
Ugh…this is too much, Collin thought to himself. Why does Randy seem so concerned? If he REALLY didn't kill Scott like he says he didn't, then what's the problem? What has he got to hide?...